? change to meter? 1 November 2007 at 10:06PM in Water bills 13 replies 933 views

susieq10

Hi,

Can anyone tell me if I could benefit by changing to a water meter?

I live alone and have about 7 showers a week, use dishwasher and washing machine once a fortnight. I only use the the amount of water I need for most things, I.e: cups of tea. I don't have a sprinkler in the garden and I save rain water to water plants. I do try to be environment friendly!
My water bill at the moment is £279.51 per annum. (this includes extra charges for surface water etc).

Thanks!

skintas_2

im thinking the same i have 2 bedroom flat me oh and 2 kids, do 7 washes a week and about 6 baths. anyone know, meter due to be fitted monday morning.............

Cardew

As stated in the other thread currently running, you have nothing to lose as you can get a meter and if it doesn't work out cheaper you can revert back to your unmetered tariff(with 12 months)

Almost certainly a single person will pay a lot less than £279pa.

susieq10

Thanks Cardew!

I'll give it a go!:beer:

Cardew

susieq10 wrote: »

Thanks Cardew!

I'll give it a go!:beer:

While you are at it - are you liable for surface water drainage?

Most properties have a soakaway.

susieq10

Cardew wrote: »

While you are at it - are you liable for surface water drainage?

Most properties have a soakaway.

Can you elaborate on this, please? Im not sure what a 'soakaway' is????

Cardew

There have been lots of threads on this (Search for surface water drainage)

Or look at this:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=192960

In essence you only pay surface water drainage if the water from your gutters or garden finds its way into the sewers.

For many years now this has not been allowed and the water goes into 'soakaways' that are normally buried out of sight under your garden.

The downpipe from your gutters will feed the water to them.

It is usually quite easy to determine if any surface water does enter the sewer.

The 'default' position of the water companies is to charge for surface water drainage(they had to under privatisation) but the majority of properties should not be paying this charge.

susieq10

Cardew wrote: »

There have been lots of threads on this (Search for surface water drainage)

Or look at this:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=192960 Thanks!

In essence you only pay surface water drainage if the water from your gutters or garden finds its way into the sewers. The rain water goes down the drainpipe into the ground at the front of the house. In front of that, on the road, is the sewer. But on my back yard I also have a sewer manhole. my house was built in 1973.

For many years now this has not been allowed and the water goes into 'soakaways' that are normally buried out of sight under your garden.

The downpipe from your gutters will feed the water to them.

It is usually quite easy to determine if any surface water does enter the sewer.

The 'default' position of the water companies is to charge for surface water drainage(they had to under privatisation) but the majority of properties should not be paying this charge.

I suppose it's just best to ring them to find out!

Thanks!

Cardew

susieq10 wrote: »

I suppose it's just best to ring them to find out!

Thanks!

They(the water companies) won't know if you have a soakaway or not. They will send you a form which you fill in, they may send someone to check, or they may accept it without checking.

susieq10

Ok! well I will try claiming for a refund and just see what happens! :beer:

mech_2

Actually most households in the UK do discharge rainwater into the sewers. That's why it is charged for by default. Rule of thumb: If your house is more than 20 years old, you're likely to need to pay the charge. If it's newer than that you probably don't.